Article contents
Micromechanical Behaviour of Amorphous Hydrogenated Silicon Carbide Films
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
Abstract
Amorphous hydrogenated silicon carbide (a-Si1-xCx:H) films (x = 0.65 to 1) were deposited by radio frequency plasma assisted chemical vapour deposition (RF-PACVD). Their friction and wear properties were investigated by means of a conventional ball-on-disk apparatus. The results were correlated with film mechanical properties. It was found that adding silicon to a-C:H (also called diamond-like carbon (DLC)) films reduces the hardness, elastic modulus and internal stress values by 15 to 30 %. Scratch testing induces film spallation from stainless steel substrates at low loads (1 N). In the low normal load (1 N) ball-on-disk tests under humid N2 conditions, a-Si1-xCx:H films (0.7 < x < 0.9) combine a very low wear rate of both the film and the counterbody with a steady state low friction coefficient below 0.1. For higher loads (5 and 10 N), however, this low friction coefficient only lasts for a relatively short time. In this case, the harder diamond-like carbon films perform tribologically better because of their higher wear resistance, low wear rate of the counterbody and generally low friction coefficients between 0.15 and 0.35 in a humid ambient atmosphere. In a dry N2 atmosphere, pure DLC films perform tribologically better than a-S1-xCx:H films in all respects.
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- Copyright
- Copyright © Materials Research Society 1993
References
REFERENCES
- 6
- Cited by